Wasn't sure where to put this. Are there any Phoenix bees? How long have you lived there? How do you like it? Favorite thing and least favorite thing about it?
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I have been wondering the same thing. I am! I have lived here 2 years and I absolutely love it. Seriously the only thing I miss is not being able to ever wear my cold weather wardrobe ;). Do you live here too? Thinking about it?
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@peacockblue: Thinking about it. Where did you move from? I would definitely miss fall if we did move.
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@peacockblue: we are going to Scottsdale for Christmas this year- I may be asking you for tips and things to do when it gets closer.
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I am!
I've lived here nearly my whole life.. I love it for the most part, except when it's too hot to handle in the summer! It's so nice right now though!!
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I live in the Phoenix area
I've been here since '89, so most of my life (I was 6). I personally love it here. I love that the winters are mild (I don't do well with the cold - snow? No thanks!). Um, least favorite thing would be either the winter visiters (because traffic becomes horrible) or, July & August because its really hot LOL Do you have any questions I can answer?
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@WALLAROO: One good thing about it is that if you miss the fall weather/winter snow, you can drive like 1-2 hours north and get it all!
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@jill_a55: @JennyLayneAZ: how do you handle the summers? Do you just stay indoors? Not do any outdoor activities? Suggestions of areas/towns in Phoenix that would be better suited for a young family?
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@WALLAROO: We do stay inside a lot, but we also spend a lot of time in the pool. We're not too far from the mountains, so you can get out of the heat for a weekend and go up north to go camping if you're into that. Its still hot up there, but cooler than it is in the valley. We do hang out outside at night time, and we have a swamp cooler we use on our patio + misters, so, while its still hot, it is a little bit more bearable. But really, its something you get used to around here. Just be careful of seatbelts during the day, and your stearing wheel on your car. The seatbelts (the metal part) can give you a pretty bad burn if it touches your skin.
I live in the East valley (North East Mesa) and I love it. We chose our neighborhood for a lot of differnt reasons, but we have an Elementary school, a Jr High, and a High School all in our neighborhood. Gilbert and Chandler are nice areas as well. I grew up in Mesa and went to school in Gilbert, so those are the areas I know best.
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@WALLAROO: Oh, and there are lakes around here also. And most of our malls and what not are indoors
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@JennyLayneAZ: We have family in Peoria and Gilbert. Do you have any insight regarding the school system/districts?
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@WALLAROO: My dad's family is from Arizona. Its not all desert. Sedona is AMAZING!!!!! And there are places in Arizona where it snows heavily. And even in the desert, its a dry heat so its definately manageable. Scottsdale is my favorite area, but its pricey.
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@WALLAROO: Ditto to a lot of what JennyLayneAZ said! We stay inside a lot, but I feel like it's something you just deal with and go about your normal activities. The only bad thing is that sometimes even the pool feels like bath water! But the way I look at it, we get to be outside all year while everyone else is avoiding the snow. This morning it is barely 80 outside!
I grew up in and currently live in Scottsdale, which I know is a more expensive part of the valley but I love it and think it is very family friendly! I know people from school that ended up moving over to Gilbert & Chandler and totally love it!
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@WALLAROO: I don't know much about the Peoria school district. Arizona as a whole, unfortunately, is pretty low in terms of education (I think we were 49 on the list this year). I feel that Gilberts school district is pretty good. I'm sure there is a site that would tell you better info than I can though! (I don't have any kiddos yet, so I haven't looked into the school rankings in a while).
Also, Peoria and Gilbert are only about an hour away from each other. You can basically live anywhere in the Valley and be pretty close to your family no matter which city you chose to live in.(as long as you stay in the valley - we have quite a bit of outskirts that are becoming part of the valley now that take a while to get to and from since the freeway systems aren't completed out to them yet)
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@Walleroo: we moved from Colorado. And I have lived most of my life in the Midwest and Northeast...so I know how bizarre it must be to even consider leaving somewhere with actual seasons. I will say however, that fall has always been my favorite season, and that I find the fall here just as beautiful. Different smells and activities and scenery, but just as lovely, if that makes any sense. The summer is ridiculously hot, but we just spend tons of time in the pool and inside and then make the most of the incredible weather the other 9 months of the year. I would just so much rather deal with heat than cold. I seriously don't miss it one bit.
Foodnerd81 : Yes, please do--We live in Scottsdale! Hopefully we will have gotten out a bit more by then and I will have a lot more ideas of places to actually share.
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@WALLAROO: I lived in the Phoenix area (Mesa) for about 10 years (jr high to graduatin high school) and then moved north to Flagstaff for another 8 or so. Flagstaff gets all tr seasons! My family still lives in Mesa.
I liked it a lot. It does get maddeningly hot, but you really do get used to it. And there are pools everywhere! I loved the non-summer months! It's great to sit in the warm sun on Christmas Day. I'm a teacher & taught in Flagstaff and agree with @JennyLayneAZ: The state overall has pretty whack policies toward public schools. I love public but would consider private or charter if our kids were in AZ. -
@peacockblue: @jill_a55: @JennyLayneAZ: quick random question- around Christmas time, would you need a pool to be heated to enjoy swimming? Definitely yes to being a baby in, right? We are visiting at Christmas and deciding if we need/want a heated pool with our house rental.
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@Foodnerd81: I would say yes. To me, our pool is already to cold to swim in right now. I haven't checked the thermometer, but our pool season is usually Memorial day thru Labor day.
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@JennyLayneAZ: I figured, thanks! Even though, we are in New England, I'm sure our definitions of pool season is different
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@Foodnerd81: Haha that's why I added in the "to me" line. Our neices live in Amarillo (they get snow, we don't) and they were fine with swimming in our pool in March. But we didn't let them swim last December when they were here. Usually the pool temp is close to whatever the low temps at night are, to give you some sort of reference! If the house rental has a hot tub, I'd suggest that
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@JennyLayneAZ: Yeah, they all have hot tubs, but the baby can't go in that. I was hoping we could take her in the pool for the first time, but some of the places are quoting $300 a week to heat the pool which hardly seems worth it. The average lows is a good guideline though.
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Hi all! I leave town for a week and this thread pops up! I've been in AZ for almost my whole life, except for 2 years in Colorado.
We are in Chandler, it's a pretty good family area. Starting in October, I love Arizona. Once May hits, I hate it! It was much easier last summer with an infant and being so sleep deprived, this year with a toddler has been rougher since we have been very cooped up.
We spend a lot of the summer getting up super early to go outside for an hour or so before it gets too hot (the zoo here opens at 6am during the summer). During the day, we go to the malls, aquarium, butterfly garden- anywhere with air conditioning or a splash pad.
We don't have a pool, but we belong to the Y, so we go swimming outside during the summer there. We also use their kids care for an hour most days so he can run and play, and I get some me time. We also take swim lessons, and they are indoors year round at a private facility. There are so many pools and drownings in the area, that this was one of our priorities... plus it's fun too!
As for schools, we hope to leave AZ before we get into major schooling. If we stayed, we would look at moving to Goodyear or Fountain Hills for better schools or go private or charter. Almost all of my adult students are products of the school systems here, and I am not a fan. I don't like the idea of my kids growing up here, we would like to be a little more rural and have seasons.
Otherwise, we are able to have good jobs and have plenty of things to do aside from the oppressing heat or fighting with snowbirds over breakfast places on the weekends
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@Foodnerd81: I checked the temp of my pool yesterday - its 68 degrees already!
I've lived here nearly my whole life.. I love it for the most part, except when it's too hot to handle in the summer! It's so nice right now though!!
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